Monday Newsbreak: 5/19

--So far, it has been estimated that more than 30,000 people have died in the China earthquakes that chiefly affected heavily-populated central China's Sichuan province. The country has begun an official three-day period of national mourning. My condolences go out to all affected by this terrible tragedy. Unlike the case with Burma after its cyclone calamity, China has welcomed international relief, to its credit.

--As I went through yesterday's Gainesville Sun, I was struck by the absence of articles about the presidential campaign. All that I saw was a piece about how women looked to the future in presidential politics and another article about the use of gas tax relief as a campaign gimmick. Which I think is kind of funny, given that we have almost come to the threshold where Barack Obama secures the nomination. Maybe the Sun recognized what is about to happen and is planning to drown us in political news next week (especially after tomorrow's Kentucky and Oregon primaries)!

--When President Bush, while speaking in Israel last week, made critical comparisons between appeasers of Hitler and those who would "negotiate with terrorists", all of the media seemed to immediately jump to the conclusion that Bush was referring to Barack Obama. But, to me, it seemed pretty obvious that the President, with whom I have had serious differences about his foreign policy, was alluding to former President Jimmy Carter's recent meeting with officials of Hamas, an organization commonly depicted as "terrorist" and today's most direct threat to Israel. Still, I think that Bush should have saved his criticism for when he was back in the United States. I agree with MSNBC's Chris Matthews for his assertion that using diplomacy with your opponents is not appeasement: you need to talk with your enemies in order to be able to lay the law down on them clearly!

--About one third of American corn is now being grown not for food, but rather for ethanol production. What happened to the United States as the world's "breadbasket"? I really don't think this diversion from food production to ethanol is a very good idea! In our gluttony for energy resources, we seem to have taken for granted that our collective food supply is secure when, in reality, it is in a very fragile state.

--In watching the NBA playoffs, I am continually amazed how differently teams play at home than when they are the visitors. Why should the game's location be any kind of factor at this level of play? And yet, regardless of who's playing, the home team seems to play like world champions! How can one team (the Atlanta Hawks) beat another (the Boston Celtics) by three points at home and then lose the next game by 34 in Boston?!!